


The Sun Will Rise Again

by QClueingForLooksQ



Category: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
Genre: F/M, Modern AU, present day, vampire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 07:05:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19127041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QClueingForLooksQ/pseuds/QClueingForLooksQ
Summary: It has been so long since his Esmeralda left him alone in that prison of metal. But now- she has returned to him. And he isn't planning on letting her go...





	The Sun Will Rise Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Moe-Machine](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Moe-Machine).
  * Inspired by [Quando Judex Est Venturus](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/488467) by Moe-Machine. 



> I was reading this webcomic on DeviantArt by Moe-Machine. The art increasingly got better as time passed, and so did the story. The story itself is of a tragic romance between a Vampiric Claude Frollo and the gypsy Esmeralda. The webcomic is almost finished- it is in Epilogue form. When I last read it, Frollo was surprised to see his Esmeralda still alive, though it truly is not her, just someone who looks like her. I really suggest you go read it! It is so wonderfully glorious and I'll leave you a link at the bottom of this to her DeviantArt. But if you don't want to take the time to do so, I'll give you a quick summary:
> 
> So as not to spoil anything too badly, Frollo is basically cursed as a vampire and falls in love with Esmeralda who reciprocates his love. But eventually, his being a vampire leads to his encapture so that he doesn't hurt anyone. Without any blood to fuel him, he remains unconscious for many many years until the present day. People find him, thinking he's a mummy, and accidentally awake him. He runs off and starts an antiquities shop for himself and stays hidden this way. One day, a woman comes in who looks very much like Esmeralda and is looking for a job. He isn't in at the time so she busies herself by admiring an emerald necklace that belonged to Esmeralda a long time ago. He sees her and tells her it is not for sale, but when she looks up at him...
> 
> AS FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO READ THE WHOLE BEGINNING (and you are beautiful if you do) here is the link to her DeviantArt. https://www.deviantart.com/moe-machine/gallery/54601241/Quando-Judex-Est-venturus  
> You must read from the very bottom of the list of posts and click the button "previous" to read them in order. Trust me. It is worth it.

"Esmeralda??"

Claude's heart stopped at the sight of his long lost love donned in the modern garb, her normally wild and free hair tied up and tamed. The woman's familiar eyes took on a quizzical look before quickly morphing into one of uncertain fear as Frollo made his way swiftly around the counter and to her front.

"Ah- Esmeralda? I'm...I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean. Is that what you call the necklace...?" she questioned awkwardly as he got closer, but the man paid her words no heed as his cold hands grasped her face between them, his granite eyes searching her features wildly.

"My Esmeralda..." he whispered, his voice robbed of breath as his hands desperately felt down her neck, reveling in the familiarity of her soft, caramel skin in his power again. His eyes locked with her frightened ones before a groan left him and he pulled her into a firm and warm embrace causing a yelp to leave her in surprise. "Oh my Esmeralda...I knew you'd come back to me. You promised you would and my patience rewards me," he breathed into her hair as he clutched the back of her head desperately, fingers entangling in the dark, soft curls as if it were a thick blanket. "But I won't let you leave me again," he shook his head adamantly before pressing his hooked nose into the crook of her neck.

"S-sir I- my name is not Esmeralda," the woman responded, her body stiff, hands hovering uncertainly in the air by her sides. Her eyes flickered to the door where an occasional passerby walked, silently pleading someone might see her predicament so she wouldn't have to deal with this alone. "I-it's Maria. Maria Donadieu."

Claude frowned at his gypsy's words, wondering why she would play such games with him. But with a simple inhale, he paused. This woman's scent was different. He frowned and glanced to her hair which, upon closer inspection, owned no grey streaks like when he last saw her. Slowly, his neck craned back to inspect the poor, frightened girl, and a pit formed in his stomach. She was not his Esmeralda... This girl was young and vibrant, albeit a bit scared looking. Esmeralda...she was dead. Long gone from his grasp. In his arms simply stood a woman with similar features...nothing more.

When this realization dawned upon him, he instantly released her, guilt weighing upon his shoulders as he noticed her hand, empty before, now holding her phone and hovering over the call button of three simple numbers.

"Oh, God...I am sorry-" he frowned before swallowing and closing his eyes. "Forgive me I...of course you're not her. I didn't mean to- ...oh God, I am so sorry-" he shook his head, opening his eyes again in disbelief at himself as he ran a stressed hand through his hair.

Maria paused, the fear of what this man could do to her when they were alone slowing beginning to drain out of her. The man she saw before her now was not lustful. His eyes were not hungry in the slightest. Only broken, remorseful, and...disappointed. She bit her upper lip and lowered her phone. "It's ok..." she offered softly.

He sighed at her words and shook his head again. "No no, my dear, it's not ok. What I did was...completely over the line. I should have been more rational," he sighed, rubbing his neck. "You just..." his jaw clenched and he closed his eyes in grief.

"...you remind me of my wife..." he finally finished and looked to the window out onto the street. "...she left...a-a long time ago and...I never truly saw her pass on but-" he scoffed, the sound a mimic of dry laughter as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Of course you're not her. But...part of me always believed she'd come back..."

Maria fully lowered her hand at this confession, her face full of pity at his revelations to her. She turned off her phone with a click and slipped it back into her pocket. "...I understand...it's alright."

Claude looked to her, studied her face for a moment before his thin lips quirked up in a tired, grateful smile. "Thank you..." he sighed.

She smiled back softly before shrugging a bit. "How many times did Jesus say to forgive someone? Seventy ti-"

"Times seven," he finished in unison with a slow, approving nod at her knowledge. He then sighed and looked around. "Well, I do not wish to make you more uncomfortable by listening to the ramblings of an old, lonely man," he smiled self-depreciatingly before referencing to the store as he turned to head back behind the counter. "Why don't you pick something from the shop to take with you. Something a pretty girl like you can adorn yourself with. No charge."

"Actually-" she spoke up causing him to pause where he was and look back to her. "...I was kind of hoping...I could apply for a job here," she smiled awkwardly and pointed to the front of the store. "I saw the sign in the window..."

Claude's brows quirked up before a dry chuckle left him. "The first applicant in weeks and I almost scare her off..." He was pleased to hear her laugh in response and he felt some of the awkwardness leave him and her forgiveness take its place. He straightened himself, regaining his normal, in control stance, and gestured to the back. "Well then, if you are still willing...my office is just past that curtain."

Maria smiled softly at this. There was still some doubt in the back of her mind but she quieted it gently. He would not harm her. She could see it in his gaze...a very old...wise gaze...

* * *

 

The weeks of her initiation into working the shop passed at a comfortable pace, soon growing into the first month of her employment. It was going well. She was making the money she needed while also gaining a friend she didn't know she wanted.

It had started only a few days after her training had begun. A brush of hands here, a press of arms there. They would be eating lunch and she would lean over to affectionately pick a piece of lint off his shoulder. A look or two would be shared between them, and the warmth from such looks would only continue to grow. A spark steadily being fanned into a flame.

One evening, almost near closing, they had just waved off a customer and decided to settle at the exact same moment in the exact same way on the counter, their hands folded, forearms supporting themselves as they bent over the glass case. They looked to each other in amusement at the synchronized act, their smiles faint but content. Yet as their eyes continued to study the others, their hearts began to pick up slightly. Their arms all the way up to their shoulders were pressed against each other, warm and comfortable. For Maria, the flutter this caused in her chest was too much, and she had to look down to her hands as a blush crept over her cheeks.

Claude said nothing. He merely watched her, the very picture of his beloved gypsy girl from so long ago, here with him once more. His gaze followed hers before his slender fingers covered her own. The touch caused her to look up to him, but slowly, she smiled once more and her fingers interlocked with his.

Something jumpstarted in his chest and he reciprocated the hold a bit tighter before he stood and tugged on her hand. Maria giggled, questioning his actions as he led her back behind the curtain of the shop. But her giggles ceased as he pushed her up against the wall, effectively trapping her. His breathing was a bit more ragged than before as he kept sharp eye contact with her.

But Maria wasn't scared. She was thrilled. Excited for what he was going to do next. "...Claude...?" she whispered innocently, and that seemed to be all the invitation he needed. A soft groan left him before his lips were upon hers with a feverish hunger she had never experienced before. A kiss that spoke of aching, desperation, and loneliness that she was more than willing to soothe.

Her hands slowly came to run up his chest, feeling the slightly coarser linen he preferred to wear catch at her fingertips. They continued up and around his neck, one slipping into his hair and grabbing a gentle fistful as her lips reciprocated his' actions. Another sound of what seemed like a cry of grief left him and he released her lips, going to kiss at the hollow of her neck desperately. "Oh, my emerald. My Esmeralda...-" he groaned longingly, his hands firmly set on her hips, grasping her as if afraid to let go. The feeling of such a possessive hold was delicious.  
But his words had stopped Maria's own actions in their tracks.

Esmeralda? Her face fell. "Oh...oh my dear Claude..." she whispered, and though those words seemed to spur him on, she was soon slowly adding pressure to his chest and pushing him away. He reluctantly let her, fearing that she didn't want him like this, and looked to her with an expression of pleading. Seeing this, she pressed her lips together firmly as a way of ignoring the pity she felt for the poor man, and she took a deep breath. Her hand came up to cup his cheek, which he eagerly pressed into, and she sighed. "...I'm not your Esmeralda..."

He watched her, his thoughts unreadable as she said this. They were even unreadable to him, for he felt he was no longer truly thinking. He was stuck in a foggy haze of despair and frustration that he simply could not escape. But slowly, her words began to sink in, and he felt a sense of deja vu. "...no I...I didn't mean that...you're Maria, of course you are, you are-" he stopped at the raising of her eyebrow, silencing himself.

She then smiled gently in what seemed like some sad amusement, brushing his flushed cheek with her thumb. "...I really like you, Claude. I do." His eyes lit up. "But..." she sighed and let her hand fall to her side as his eyes dulled just as quickly. "If all you can see when you look at me is Esmeralda...and not me...then maybe this isn't something we should pursue," she stated, seeming to gather herself, straightening a bit. A whimper of protest left Claude at this, but she gently silenced him with a finger to his lips. "However-" she raised a brow. "If that isn't the case..." she lowered her hand once more. "I'll be right here. Alright?"

Claude watched her in a forlorn manner as she smiled encouragingly at him. She then grasped his ever-frigid hands in her smaller, warmer ones, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed his nose softly. He closed his eyes at the familiar sensation, repressing a soft sound at the feeling before she had let him go to deal with the repercussions himself and headed back out to the shop they really should not have left alone for so long.

The vampire stood there for a good amount of time, contemplating this bargain. But eventually, as he peeked out the curtain to watch this new woman in his life tend to the shop he had made for his new start...he realized...she could be his new start as well. A way of growing the relationship he had always wanted but hadn't had the wisdom to supplement when he was younger. She was not his Esmeralda. Esmeralda was gone.

But she could be his Maria.

Slowly, he stepped out into the shop, the rustling of the curtain causing her to look up at him. She smiled before going back to counting the money at the register. "I closed the shop up already. Your coat's on the counter so I can just finish up here if you want to go ho-"

She stopped as his hand came to rest over hers and she looked back to him once more quizzically.

"...I was wondering if you would like to go out to dinner with me tonight," he rumbled with a new sense of determination and calm in his voice. "...Maria."

The girl watched his face for a moment before a sweet, small smile claimed her own. "As long as wherever you want to go allows my casual attire."

Claude scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Please. Every restaurant is casual nowadays," he sighed causing her to laugh and him to smile warmly down at her in return. She then sighed blissfully and reached up, fixing a piece of his hair back into place, his own eyes glittering at the affectionate action.

"Dinner it is then."

* * *

 

With the shop closed up and their arms linked, they started down the sidewalk as the sun started to set. And he couldn't help but be reminded of his newfound mantra as he watched it go down. The sun would soon have a new beginning...yes...the sun would soon have...a new beginning...

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! And please do share your love with Moe-Machine on DeviantArt. This couldn't have been written without her!


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